Gilroy
– State plans to relocate a bridge over Uvas Creek will involve
cutting down 15 deadora cedar trees along Hecker Pass, a move that
promises to encounter opposition among locals interested in
preserving the city’s scenic gateway.
Gilroy – State plans to relocate a bridge over Uvas Creek will involve cutting down 15 deadora cedar trees along Hecker Pass, a move that promises to encounter opposition among locals interested in preserving the city’s scenic gateway.
State officials said the current move is necessary since Uvas Creek has eroded the support columns under the current bridge located just west of Burchell Road.
“The bridge is still safe to drive,” said Caltrans environmental engineer Jared Goldfein. “We’re being proactive so a problem does not occur.”
Building a new bridge to the south will require roadwork along “Tree Row,” a stretch of land around the entrance of Bonfante Gardens. The area serves as home to 115 of the East Indian variety of cedar, a pine-like tree with needles.
“In order to move the bridge south and to conform with the existing roadway, we have to realign a portion of the roadway so we don’t have an unsafe curve in the road,” Goldfein explained. “The issue is one of safety.”
He said the agency studied other alternatives such as retrofitting the bridge, but settled on the current proposal as the one with the fewest negative effects.
The new bridge will be 52 feet wide, about 17 feet wider than the current bridge, and will be located 58 feet farther south. It will include left turn pockets, acceleration lanes and standardized shoulders, as well as upgraded bridge rails and metal beam guard rails. The use of rails helped avoid the need to cut down additional trees to create a buffer between the roadway and treeline, Goldfein said.
“Within the right of way we will be replacing vegetation, shrubs and what not,” Goldfein said. “Unfortunately we will not be able to replace the cedars because they’re too big.”
Caltrans will disclose the details of its environmental review at the end of June, and will hold a public meeting for local residents in mid-July.
Residents and local officials are just now learning the details of the state’s plans, and in some cases, the history of the trees.
The cedars were planted on Arbor Days in 1930 and 1931 by local Rotarians, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and other members of the community, according to Caltrans spokeswoman Gidget Navarro. As part of its study of the area, Caltrans is working with state historic preservation officials to place the remaining trees on the National Register of Historic Places.
“On the one hand, 15 doesn’t sound too bad,” said Jim Rogers, a local school board member and environmental advocate. “I guess it’s better than all of them. I’m just worried that eventually they’ll find a reason to expand and get rid of the rest of them. People in town always refer to the west side of Gilroy as our jewel. I think when they do have the comment period, certainly I will say ‘Do everything you can to save as many as you can.’ ”
Officials from Caltrans were out surveying the bridge and surrounding area Tuesday. The county constructed the current Uvas Creek bridge in 1957 to replace its predecessor, once located 650 feet farther north along the waterway. Officials estimate the latest relocation effort will cost $3.2 million. They expect the project to begin July 2007 and last until Nov. 2009.
State officials and city staff are scheduled to meet today to discuss plans, which are not expected to result in any lane closures along Hecker Pass.
“There’s going to be a certain segment of the population that is not going to be happy with their plan to take out those trees,” said Joel Goldsmith, whose family runs a seed company along the scenic route. “How strong that reaction will be is going to depend on how solid their reasoning is to take them out. There’s only so much you can do if that’s where the road has to be. If that turns out not to be the case, then there’s going to be quite a lot of resistance.”
